Could Rick Perry be Mitt Romney’s vice president?

Mitt Romney is having some trouble wrapping up the GOP presidential race. Pundit Bernie Quigley thinks Rick Perry could help him. (AP photo)

It’s no secret that winning the GOP nomination contest has been slightly more difficult for Mitt Romney than he, and many others, had imagined.

Rick Santorum’s Deep South sweep on Tuesday was yet another disappointment for the former Massachusetts governor, and a brokered convention (still highly unlikely) is mentioned increasingly in the media. Meanwhile, a new poll from Pew Research Center released March 15 shows that Romney is losing ground to Barack Obama. In a hypothetical general election match-up, 54 percent of voters now say they will vote for Obama, while 42 percent will vote for Romney.

According to Quigley, the Texas governor is just the person Romney needs to increase his electability.

“Perry literally wrote the book on state sovereignty and the devolution of power to the states,” Quigley writes. “Romney said repeatedly he would follow these innovations as president. And Steve Forbes [editor in chief of Forbes magazine and former GOP candidate] says Perry’s tax ideas are the best. As a state manager, Perry is a match for Romney, for anyone.”

The question is, would Romney still be saying that today? After a pretty messy — and personal — primary rivalry.

Quigley is at least convinced by his own idea, stating that “Perry, Texas governor for the past decade, is uniquely qualified to offer a firsthand perspective on why the United States — the most successful civilization in human history — is being threatened with economic collapse.” He also points out that a ballot with Romney and Perry on it fulfills the tradition of candidates from both a southern and a northern state.